


The Truth Is Rarely Pure And Never Simple

by BarryAllenIsTheFlash



Series: Speak Of The Devil And He Shall Appear [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angel Sam Winchester, Angel Wings, Angelic Grace, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Archangel Sam Winchester, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen, Lucifer's Cage, Please Don't Kill Me, Sam Winchester Has Powers, Sam Winchester Remembers Lucifer's Cage, Trauma, Universe Alteration, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 08:53:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14891486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarryAllenIsTheFlash/pseuds/BarryAllenIsTheFlash
Summary: Sam Winchester and Gabriel finally come face to face after the death of the Devil.A sequel to Be Sure To Taste Your Words Before You Spit Them Out.(Honestly, this is just me having fun with my own series. If you prefer the more canon-like story and Sam with no powers, just read the rest of the series that comes before this fic.)





	1. Chapter 1

Sam Winchester is sitting on the hood of a car, holding an archangel blade. 

 

_ No,  _ **_his_ ** _ archangel blade. _

 

_ The one he used to kill Lucifer. _

 

_ He feels no remorse, even when he had cleaned the remaining bright-red-angel-blood off. _

 

_ Sam thinks it should have been black. Black as the Devil’s heart. _

 

He turns it slowly in his hands, examining the writing circling the shining metal. The Enochian words are bunched together in a twisting and turning line, none of them forming complete sentences. 

 

Sam Winchester can read them all,  _ but not because he now has grace _ .

 

_ SamaelSamuelPoisonOfGodNameOfGodArchangelSoulGraceBornDemonRaised– _

 

And on and on they go, speaking of an intricate description of him,  _ of his life, of what he thinks, feels, knows _ .  _ It should probably creep him out, but for some reason, it doesn’t. _

 

He hears footsteps approach him from the side, crunching quietly in the mix of dirt and gravel.

 

Sam sighs softly, and the blade disappears with a thought.

 

He tilts his head a little bit to his right, and his eyes widen slightly in surprise as he sees who it is.

 

Gabriel.  _ Loki, Trickster, Liesmith, Archangel, Messenger Of God.  _

 

_ Something deep inside Sam whispers,  _ **_Brother_ ** _. _

 

Sam shifts to the left, waving his hand in a gesture to sit down. 

 

Gabriel nods, doing exactly that, and knits his fingers together in his lap.

 

They both stare into the empty space in front of them, neither one looking at each other.

 

Gabriel swallows, looking down. “I heard you killed my brother.”

 

Sam stills as he hears those words.  _ Not Lucifer, not the Devil, but  _ **_my brother_ ** _. _

 

_ For the first time after Lucifer’s death, Sam feels guilt.  _

 

_ But he won’t deny that he did it. That’s not him. _

 

Sam nods reluctantly, forcing the words out. “I did.”

 

His wings ruffle uncomfortably. He doesn’t know what else to say.

 

There’s silence for a bit before Gabriel releases a strangled breath. “I don’t know, Sam…I know he was, well,” Gabriel snorts. “A great big bag of dicks, yeah, but he was also my brother.”

 

Sam flinches, shoulders curling inwards. “I’m sorry.”

 

Gabriel looks over at Sam in surprise, straightening up. 

 

“I’m not mad at you, Sam. I just…” 

 

Gabriel turns away once again. 

 

“It’s strange. Having everyone nearly gone.” 

 

_ Sam doesn’t need to ask who  _ **_everyone_ ** _ is _ . 

 

“All the archangels are dead, Sam. Raphael, Lucifer, Michael.” 

 

Gabriel’s eyes flick to the ground, beginning to glow a faint amber-whiskey-gold, like polished bronze,  _ while Sam’s is a bright shining gold,  _ and Gabriel murmurs, “ _ Except me. _ ”

 

Sam swallows. “Michael isn’t dead.”

 

_ Insane, crazy, lost a few of his marbles, sure, but he isn’t dead. _

 

Gabriel frowns, tilting his head to look up at Sam. “What?” He croaks out.

 

Sam shakes his head, forcing himself not to look at Gabriel.

 

“He’s not dead. He’s…”  _ A mess of limbs and heads bleeding bright-blue grace as it huddles in a ball, mumbling words that come from a shattered mind. They make no sense.  _ “He’s in the cage.”

 

“ _ What? _ ” Gabriel’s voice is sharp, demanding answers. But Sam looks at Gabriel, and all he sees is pain. 

 

_ Pain, because Gabriel knows what the cage can do to someone. _

 

Sam stares at nothing again, licking his lips and taking a shuddering breath.

 

“Michael is in the cage. Our Michael, at least.”

 

“ **_How?!_ ** ” Gabriel snarls, and it sounds broken. 

 

_ Broken like Michael,  _ Sam thinks, and he shakes his head to clear it.

 

“You…you told us to get the rings. We did. Then we trapped Lucifer. Michael came along for the ride.”

 

Gabriel leans back, shocked. Then he asks the question Sam has been dreading.

 

“How’d you get them in the cage?”

 

Sam stops breathing as his eyes turn glassy, unfocused.

 

_ Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention, pay attention. _

 

_ Pay attention, says the Devil, you don’t want your tongue ripped out, again, do you? _

 

_ Pay attention, says Michael, sneering. Abomination. Learn some respect around me. _

 

_ There is a burning sensation wrapped around Sam’s wrist and he whimpers, oh God, what a pitiful sound, and wait, no, it’s not burning, it’s just really, really warm, too warm for the Devil, too cold for Michael, what is it, why isn’t he being tortured, what’s going on– _

 

“ ** _Sam!_** ” Someone yells _,_ _and Sam thinks that an archangel’s voice in the cage should shred apart his eardrums like paper like they’ve always been a million times and they don’t and now he just feels lost–_

 

“ **_Sam, listen to me!_ ** ”  _ Sam thinks he knows that voice, now. Who is it? It’s been so long. _

 

“Sam, fuck, I don’t want to have to explain this to your brother, he might actually kill me. So please. **_Open your eyes._** ”

 

Sam does, and the world explodes with light.


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel knows something is wrong as soon as he asks the question. In hindsight, he probably shouldn’t have asked at all.

 

Sam freezes, eyes looking at nothing. And then Gabriel notices he stops breathing.

 

_ He’s seen that before. In himself.  _

 

_ What was Sam not telling him? _

 

Gabriel grabs Sam on the wrist, using what grace he has left to try and take a look inside, to see if he can bring Sam back. But Sam’s mind is completely shielded. And to add insult to the injury, Sam curls inwards, closing his eyes and letting out a whimper.  _ Shit. _

 

_ Blocking should be impossible,  _ Gabriel wants to say, but he knows his powers are more than a little down, and Sam was psychic in the past. So he tries what anyone would do. Yelling.

 

He shakes Sam’s shoulder. “ **_Sam!_ ** ”

 

Sam doesn’t respond. 

 

“ **_Sam, listen to me!_ ** ”

 

Gabriel growls in frustration. “Sam, fuck, I don’t want to have to explain this to your brother, he might actually kill me. So please. **_Open your eyes._** ”

 

And then Gabriel nearly flies away in shock when Sam does.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam is kneeling on the ground, head down, and has blasted everything within a twelve-foot radius away. Except for Gabriel.

 

_ Sam’s wings are stretched out, feathers splayed, glinting like metal and his molten gold halo is dripping and hissing when it hits the ground like it’s evaporating, and there are scorch marks surrounding him where he kneels and his eyes hold no trace of human, they’re just rippling energy contained within a vessel and Sam lets out a breath and it shakes the ground– _

 

And then Sam throws up.

 

The power snaps back into his body as Sam begins to stand shakily, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and turning to Gabriel, who stands there,  _ amber-gold wings outstretched and a disk of solid bronze hovering over his head. _

 

Gabriel’s eyes are wide as his wings fold back and halo dissipates. And then they both look human again.  _ Although they are very much  _ **_not_ ** _. _

 

Sam stumbles over to another car, leaning on it and hanging his head.

 

“Sorry,” He grunts.

 

“You have grace,” Gabriel says, and it’s not a question.

 

Sam frowns. “Yeah, I thought you could tell.”

 

Gabriel walks over slowly, stiff. “No, I couldn’t- my grace wasn’t strong enough, I was far too weak.” He narrows his eyes as he looks Sam over. “Why do you have grace?”

 

_ It’s not, “How do you have grace?”, because Sam thinks Gabriel already knows. Just take a look at the golden feathers, golden eyes, golden halo. _

 

_ It’s  _ **_why_ ** _ , because Sam knows a soul should not be able to contain grace, no matter how powerful it is. A soul is all soul, that’s it. Except for Sam Winchester. _

 

Sam’s hands shake, and he grabs onto the edge of the car. It creaks under him, and when he moves away, there’s a handprint-shaped dent in the metal.

 

_ Am I ever going to get used to this?  _ Sam thinks, sighing. Then he turns back to Gabriel, eyes full of pain.

 

“My soul…”  _ God dammit, Sam, just say it.  _ “It was shredded, torn apart, whatever you want to call it. The cracks, well,” He snorts. “The cracks are filled with gold, so to speak.”

 

This time, Gabriel is the one to freeze. “What happened?”  _ What happened to your soul? Why is it shredded?  _ There are so many other questions behind the words Gabriel says. Still, he says it quietly, not demanding an answer. 

 

But Sam chooses to anyway. “The Cage,” He says simply, as if it’s no big deal at all.

 

Gabriel snarls. “ **_How?_ ** ”

 

Sam bites his lip, turns away. He speaks as quickly as he can. “I said yes. Jumped in. Accidently dragged Michael down too.”

 

Gabriel makes a wounded noise as he flinches backward. “How long?”

 

Sam winces and shuts his eyes,  _ shuts the memories out.  _ “Five thousand years,” He whispers, and his wings curl around him like a tent of feathers.

 

Gabriel chokes. “How are...how are you still  _ alive? _ ”

 

_ Dear boy, you're all duct tape and safety pins inside. How are you alive? _

 

Sam shrugs, putting on a bitter smirk. “Honestly? No idea,” He rasps out.

 

_ Before this, he knew he’d been falling apart for quite a while. _

 

_ The only thing holding him together now is grace. _

 

Gabriel looks wary, but he sighs and a weak smile forms at the edge of his mouth.

 

“Come on, let’s get back to camp.” Gabriel’s three pairs of wings stretch out in anticipation.

 

Sam looks at them and feels something break in his chest. “Gabe…I’m sorry about your grace.”

 

This time, Gabriel grins, eyes sparkling. “It seems I got a super-charge from you. Don’t worry about me.”

 

Sam sucks in a breath. “ _ What? _ ” He whispers, shocked, confused,  _ and thankful, because for once he did something right in his life. _

 

Gabriel rolls his shoulders, wings stretching out as well. “Yup! Okay, now let’s go, because I’m pretty sure Dean  _ will  _ stab me if we don’t get there on time for food.”

 

Sam looks at Gabriel, frowning. Gabriel rolls his eyes. 

 

“Yes, I think he knows you don’t need to eat, but food is excellent, yes? Come on, let’s go.”

 

Sam nods, getting up from where he was leaning against the car. This time, when he stands, he’s stable. Good.

 

And Gabriel sobers a little bit when he watches Sam. And then he looks Sam in the eyes.

 

_ Amber-whiskey eyes to those of an ever-changing color. _

 

_ Archangel to archangel. _

 

_ One, old as time and the other newly born. _

 

_ And at this, fate herself, trembles. _

 

And Gabriel,  _ Archangel, Messenger of God _ , speaks.

 

**_For what it is worth, Samael, I think of it as an honor to have you as a brother._ **

 

Sam falters at Gabriel’s voice in his head, but then he smiles and replies with a quiet,

 

**_And I you, Gabriel._ **

 

They both disappear with a whisper of wings.

**Author's Note:**

> i would like if you commented!!! or kudos!!! feedback is nice!!! :D :D :D <3 <3 <3
> 
> you can find me on tumblr: @youarentreadingthis
> 
> you can find me on fanfiction.net: alaskanbirdfriend


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